


Your Wayward Brother, Nori

by Bofur1



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Brother Feels, Dysfunctional Family, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, I think I broke Nori, I'm Sorry, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Lack of Communication, Letters to Home, Non-Involvement, Wanderlust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-05
Updated: 2014-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-18 05:32:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1416931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bofur1/pseuds/Bofur1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From Nori, five letters to Dori and Ori that were never received.</p><p>From Dori, one letter to Nori that was never received...until it was too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your Wayward Brother, Nori

**#1**

_Dori and Ori,_

_I guess the best place to start is ‘hello’. I haven’t said that to you in a while, so hello. There, I said it. Well, wrote it. Whatever._

_I’m as fine as can be out here on the road. Haven’t run into any Orcs, so you can stop biting your nails, Dori. (Ori, if he tries to deny it, you can whack him upside the head for me.)_

_I don’t even really know why I’m writing. I guess I just thought I should do it tonight before things get busy again._

_Got a necklace from someone today. It’s sort of decent—a thin gold chain with a few round brown gemstones strung onto it. Bofur would probably know what they’re called. Maybe when I get back we can take it to him and he can tell us what it is. The gemstones reminded me of Ama’s eyes. She’d have looked nice with it on._

_The stars are unusually bright tonight. I wish I had a hand at drawing like you do, Ori, because if I did I would make a picture and send it with this letter. Well, then again, you can look out the window. Maybe we’ll be looking at the same star._

_Your Wayward Brother,_

Nori

 

**#2**

_Dori and Ori,_

_Hello again. Actually, no, hello for the first time. I wrote you a letter a few weeks back, but I never got around to sending it. Sorry. Hopefully you haven’t been worried._

_I’ve been really busy with the business. Don’t worry, Dori, no one’s been killed lately. It hasn’t gotten to that because I’ve had great luck so far. That’s why I’ve been gone so long, I think. Can’t give up this streak as soon as it’s begun!_

_But I already know about what’s happening with me. Ori, how are your studies as a scribe? Is Balin driving you into the ground with work or anything like that? If he is, just tell me and I’ll come home and give him a word or two to write down himself. Just kidding, I know you’re good friends with him, Dori. I’ll just threaten Dwalin. By the way, does he miss catching me yet? You should ask._

_Dori, I highly doubt the answer will be ‘yes’ to my next question, but I’ll ask anyway: have you lightened up on the lad? He wears his scarf and mittens even if you don’t ask him to. Seriously, he doesn’t need you coddling him all the time. Ori, you ought to tell him so once in a while._

_Your Wayward Brother,_

Nori

 

**#3**

_Dori and Ori,_

_Couple of Gobs tried to nab me last time I was writing. (Goblins, Dori, in case you don’t understand enough slang to know.) Anyway, I cut them up pretty easily and went on my way. So, sorry again, I forgot about sending the past two letters._

_And Ori, I think I need to apologize for missing your birthday. I don’t really have any excuse for it. Hope you’ll forgive me._

_I met up with a friend on the road. His name is Ardofir—pretty nice guy, at least when you give him something to eat before talking to him about his crimes. (You’ve met him before, Dori. Ori, I hope you didn’t expect him to be a lawful man...)_

_Ori, I know you’ll laugh if I tell you how Ardofir was named. Gotta admit, I like it when you laugh, so I’ll tell you. When his mother went into labor, his father was drunk. The labor took so long that his adad had enough to time get a hangover, so he was pretty cross. She was too, giving birth and all. So he was pacing back and forth, muttering about how he’d never been a father before and that the baby was going to teach him the “art of fear”. His wife was screaming, so she heard him wrong—thought he was giving the baby a name. Good thing it turned out to be a boy!_

_There, that’s my funny story for the day. Have to go._

_Your Wayward Brother,_

Nori

**#4**

_Dori and Ori,_

_At least I tried to send my last note to you, but my messenger was killed on the road by a pack of wargs. Mahal, how hard is it to send a letter?!_

_The wargs kept on coming down the road, but I didn’t know it—at least not till they were on me. Fortunately Ardofir had stayed with me and we fought the beasties together. Ardofir all but smashed most of them—forgot to mention, he’s huge. If Fundin hadn’t been killed for Moria, I would bring Ardofir home with me sometime and ask the two of them to compare heights. Fundin would probably be bigger, but not by much._

_Anyway, he left yesterday. A crime-lord’s gotta get back to his underlings sooner or later. Oh, yeah, that’s another thing. He was a friend of our father before...you know. But never mind that. Like I said, he left and I continued on._

_It’s a nice little place, this town. Not enough Dwarves, but they’ve got good ale. I might’ve had too much last night, but I always shake it off pretty quickly. Just...not quickly enough to avoid starting a bar fight. It was quite a brawl and I know both of you are probably fussing at that. Stop it, I’m not hurt. I’m spiffing, in fact! Dori, you should tell Ori about your brawling days._

_Your Wayward Brother,_

Nori

 

**#5**

_Dori and Ori,_

_Writing real fast here, I’ve got a war on. You know the bar fight I got into—wait, no, you wouldn’t, because that letter never got sent. Well, that’s to be expected. Like I said, war’s on. But the reason the war is on is because of that bar fight. Turns out a member of a rival crime-ring was in there and recognized me. No, he recognized the fist I put in his face a dozen times._

_Anyway, real busy. Have to go sharpen weapons now. Miss you, hope to see you soon._

_Your Wayward Brother,_

Nori

 

~*~

Many years later.

 

Nori rubbed his eyes furiously against his black sleeve as he shuffled slowly toward Dori’s teashop. The funeral was over, leaving a desolate pain in his chest that nearly doubled him over.

Dori’s death had happened while Nori was away. He had received word from a raven that Bofur had sent. His older brother had come down with an illness that was passing through the region and had died in his bed.

Nori had no qualms about killing the raven for its message. Of course Dori was alive! He was always there, always waiting for Nori to come home, and he always would be! When he got back to Erabor, however, he heard that one of Bombur’s young, lively children had been lost to the sickness as well and he knew that with Dori’s swiftly advancing years...he’d not stood half a chance.

Now Nori stood in front of the shop, wishing he were able to create a miracle and make his older brother answer the door.

The door squeaked as Nori opened it, just as it always had. Dori always said he would get around to oiling it. Nori blinked away the tears that surfaced as he realized that it would never be done now.

As he stepped inside, Nori’s eyes widened in disbelief. It was neat and tidy, looking as though Dori had simply stepped out to go on an errand. As though he’d return soon enough, maybe with a package under his arm, and then make two cups of tea. One for himself and the other...

Ori had been slain at Moria some ten years before, but Nori wasn’t certain if Dori had ever _fully_ comprehended it. But it didn’t matter now. Dori and Ori were probably catching up on lost teatimes right now in the Halls of Waiting.

Seized by sudden madness, Nori launched himself forward. His surroundings couldn’t be so _normal_ when he was in such furious anguish—he wouldn’t let them! Screaming in a tangle of languages that he couldn’t even translate, he smashed whatever was in reach, trying to envision in front of him the devastation that ravaged in him.

When he could see nothing left intact, Nori collapsed to the floor, leaning against the one cabinet he hadn’t been able to destroy. He stared numbly at the ruined room for a long while, barely processing what he saw. As his eyes landed on a torn piece of paper, however, Nori reached shakily forward and gathered up the two halves. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the heading.

_Dear Brother Nori,_

Nori closed his eyes, dragging in gulps of air that burned his throat. Would he be able to read this? At last he lowered his eyes to the words, practically able to hear his brother’s voice.

_Dear Brother Nori,_

_I just got a sudden urge to write you. I have no clue how or if this will ever reach you, but I need to get some things out on paper. You haven’t been around much lately but I must admit that I miss you terribly. I always have, but ever since Ori...even more so._

_I doubt you were wondering, but I’m doing fairly well. The shop has been quiet, which is both fortunate and unfortunate. It’s fortunate because it gives me time to write this letter to you—and unfortunate because I know exactly why it’s so quiet. I don’t have a brother here to mingle with the customers and ask them about their day._

_It was a good thing we had Ori as long as we did. He was doing you a courtesy, you know, letting me mother him. If he hadn’t been here for all those years, I probably would have tried to follow you on the road for every trip with three spare changes of clothes. Besides, you were never destined to work in a teashop. I tried to accept that even if I didn’t understand it._

_I don’t even know why I’m writing this. Maybe I want **you** to understand **me** if someday you decide not to come back. I can’t blame you if it happens, now that you don’t have Ori to come to. I don’t regret the things I’ve said to you—I only regret that I said them in anger. _

_Now I’m just blathering, as you call it. I’ll let you get on with your business. Keep inside, there’s a bug going around. I love you._

_Your Brother,_

Dori

Nori pressed the paper to his chest, laid his head on his knees and wept.


End file.
